One difficulty associated with utilizing wipes for cleaning fabric-based materials around the house is that in many instances the wipes are too harsh on the fabric, they fray, lint, or fall apart during usage, and/or they do not effectively remove surface dirt and contamination from the fabric.
For instance, it is known to impregnate a cleaning solution that includes water, a volatile cleaning agent, and a surfactant into a wipe formed from hydrophobic materials such as nylon and polyester. The wipe may also include a hydrophobic binder such as an acrylic latex binder. One drawback of this is that given its hydrophobic nature, the wipe will have inadequate capacity to hold cleaning solution. Another drawback is that the wipe is unable to adequately transfer the cleaning liquid to the fabric. Yet further, this type of system tends to disperse the dirt and contamination on and/or into the fabric rather than actually remove it from the fabric.
The present invention addresses these drawbacks by providing a premoistened disposable wipe which effectively removes surface dirt and contamination without leaving behind lint while being gentle on the fabric.
Another advantage of the present invention is the ability to deliver one or more of the premoistened disposable wipe's active materials/benefit agents (including but not limited to perfume) to the fabric in a microencapsulated form. While not wishing to be limited by theory, it is thought that upon delivery to the fabric, some of the microencapsulates may rupture providing an immediate release of the active material/benefit agent while some of the microencapsulates will not rupture until a later time thereby providing a delayed release of the active material/benefit agent which in turn provides additional opportunities for the active material/benefit agent to work after the fabric has been contacted by the wipe.
A further advantage of the present invention is the stability of the microencapsulates when used in conjunction with a premoistened wipe. A common occurrence when utilizing microencapsulates in conjunction with a premoistened wipe has been the tendency for the moistening composition of the wipe to weaken the microencapsulate. This leads to leakage and premature rupture of the microencapsulate thereby causing premature release of the microencapsulate contents prior to wipe use. The present invention helps to eliminate this problem.
These and other features, aspects, advantages, and variations of the present invention will become evident to those skilled in the art from a reading of the present disclosure with the appended claims and are covered within the scope of the claims.